


Music, Meet Savage Beasts

by ShadowMystXII



Series: World's Most Badass Babysitter [1]
Category: Alice in Wonderland (Movies - Burton), Mad T Party Band
Genre: Babysitting, Children of Characters, Domestic, Family, Fluff, Gen, M/M, OCs - Freeform, lullaby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-01
Updated: 2019-04-01
Packaged: 2019-12-30 07:17:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18310814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowMystXII/pseuds/ShadowMystXII
Summary: "Music hath charms to soothe the savage beast" ~ William Congreve [misquote]Sometimes the oldest things can help the newest ones.





	Music, Meet Savage Beasts

**Author's Note:**

> MarchMouse Kits belong to imakethingsigrowthings (artbymaryc.tumblr.com)

[Eirian's Lullaby](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68xu7uxsAgY)

* * *

It was one of Jareth’s oldest memories. He couldn’t say what time of day it was, or where he had been, but he had been upset. Truly, deeply, more-than-a-normal-child upset, and nothing was helping.

Both of his fathers took multiple turns trying every trick they could figure. His aunts and uncles all did their own bests. But nothing worked and even his siblings got over his noise and fell asleep, leaving him alone and wailing while his family retreated from the nursery before they went Mad in a different way.

“Even I can’t get that loud when I’m upset, and I’m the biggest of the bunch. ”

The cries didn’t stop as the tiny boy pried his red, watery eyes open when he heard the voice. Through his tears, Jareth could make out a dark figure standing in the nursery room doorway. When they didn’t speak again, Jareth’s face crumpled with renewed sobbing.

The stranger stalking forward and slowly looming over him made the kit refocus for a second. A face with sharp teeth and crimson eyes lowered to his eye level and waited. Even as he cried, Jareth stared into those eyes that never blinked.

“I know, little one. I feel it too, all the time.”

He didn’t understand her words, but he saw it in her face, heard it in her voice. The thing his infant mind  _knew_  but couldn’t even begin to grasp. His wails softened by a few decibels.

The dark figure vanished and Jareth’s face once more began to screw up tightly until he felt something whisper across his back. He turned his tiny head and saw the person sitting behind him. A great dark shape rose up from behind her and arched over him. She leaned over, draping the shape like a tent.

“Sleep now, kit. One day we’ll go back and we won’t be strange anymore.”

* * *

Mally leaned against the nursery door, a rare soft smile curving his lips. He felt more than heard Thackery walk behind him before stopping and backtracking to where the Dormouse stood. After a moment Mally felt the Hare’s chin come to rest on his shoulder, a deep smile matching Mally’s on the other man’s face.

the pair stood gazing into the airy room full of soft light, a halo of the stuff settled around the little group in the center. The four sleeping kits lay piled together; Thea and Jareth side by side with foreheads together and holding hands in a rare show of solidarity, Wes’s back pressed to his sister’s, Bastian’s head pillowed on Jareth’s side.

Eirian lay on her side behind them, eyes closed. Her head was pillowed on one bent arm, the other hand resting gently on Jareth’s pale blond hair. One of her wings made a canopy over the five of them. She wasn’t tall, but the long black tail curving past her feet made up the difference, letting her almost completely surround the babies in a protective cocoon.

In the soft quiet, the two could hear the faint rustling of the nursery’s curtains as the warm spring air found its way through the open windows. Ambient noise from outside filtered in on the breeze. Another sound began to be heard, sweet and faint, almost a whisper. Thackery’s ears twitched even as Mally’s eyes squinted slightly in concentration. Almost at the same time, they realized.

Singing.

From the sleepers.

Thackery’s eyes narrowed this time and he nudged Mally gently, drawing the mouse’s attention with a nod.

Ever so faintly, hardly at all, Eirian’s lips were moving.

 _nen-nen yo okororiyo suya-suya to oyasuminasai_  
_nen-nen yo okororiyo yasashi hito ni sodachimasu you ni_  
_kami-sama arigatou, enjeru mo arigatou  
_ _nen-nen yo okororiyo mama no mune de oyasuminasai_

As her voice trailed off, Jareth’s face scrunched up. Eirian’s hand moved slightly, gently petting the pale blonde head before the boy could start to squirm. After a few beats, she began singing what Mally and Thackery realized was the second verse of a lullaby. As she breathed the song, the restless child settled back into sleep once more. The two men carefully backed out of the door and slipped away.

* * *

Eirian’s long neck curved upward as she studied the passing clouds with a keen eye. She didn’t taste weather on the wind, but Underland was nothing if not unpredictable.

Movement against her ribs brought her attention down from the sky. A few soft thumps made her huff in mock annoyance. The thumps turned into snuggling into her side and she whuffed again, a smile curving her mouth.

“Don’t make her mad, Bas, I just got comfy.”

For a moment, the great crimson eyes flicked backwards at the voice. She could sense each of the four young creatures next to her, and felt a sudden snap in the energy between them. The Jabberwock canted her head backwards to give her eyes on the four Dorhares.

Bastian was opening his mouth to give his sister a witty comeback.

“Save it, little bro. You know she’d whoop your ass in a heartbeat.” Westley was tucked in the crook of her front leg where it met her body. With his eyes closed and arms crossed comfortably over his chest, the hare was the spitting image of his Papa.

“Yeah, doofus, and if she didn’t, I would!” Eirian rolled her eyes as Jareth thrust himself over and whapped his little brother across the back of the head. As Bastian yelped, the older kit settled back against the base of her long black tail, smirking at his brother with all the Mallyness he could muster.

The youngest Dorhare glared at his brother from his place snugged between two of the Jabberwock girl’s massive rib bones. “Dare you to prove it, coward!”

“Hey!” Westley cracked an eye open. “Chill, guys, it’s too nice out for this.”

Curled inside one of the Jabberwocks’ giant claws, Thea’s eyes were lidded and a sleepy smile graced her face while she stroked one of the wicked talons fondly. As her brothers’ bickering became louder, she glanced at them but didn’t move. “You two idiots start fighting, Daddy’s gonna come out here.”

“He started it!”

“And you can’t finish it, nyah!”

A low rumble vibrated the air, cutting the bickering off before it could shift into a new gear. A shadow fell over the group and all four kits came to attention, eyes slowly lifting to meet the large crimson orb fixed on them. Eirian’s great head hung above them as she raised one spiked brow.

A series of looks passed between the four kits, rapid-fire conversations and arguments and discussions and agreements and closing the issue. After a moment they looked to Westley and he nodded, smiling up at Eirian.

“Good.” Despite her beast form’s size, the girl’s voice was gentle in its adultness.

Thea pushed herself up slightly and reached out towards Eirian’s head, making lazy grabby hands. The Jabberwock obliged and curled her head further, dropping it down to nuzzle the mouse girl. Thea rubbed her cheek to Eirian’s, wrapping her small arms as far around the creature’s muzzle as she could get. Eirian snorted and gently pulled away, the action making Thea pout until Eirian brought her head up over the girl’s and gently pressed her back into her curled up position.

As she settled the girl, Eirian felt slight jolts of movement from her leg, her belly, her tail. Twisting her neck up slightly, she brought her head over to whuffle Westley’s hair, he nuzzling her snout in return before closing his eyes again.

Bastian sat up as Eirian turned to him. He stretched out to meet the bottom of her jaw with his ears and draped his arms above her eyes as she tilted her head to press him back against her. A pout similar to Thea’s turned his mouth as she began to pull away. Eirian sighed but came back to cuddle the young hare a bit more before moving to the last of her kits.

Jareth lounged along the ridge spines at the base of Eirian’s tail. The kit had somehow managed to wend his body through two of the spines and had one arm casually looped around a third. The Jabberwock snorted.

Jareth looked up at the sound, green eyes meeting crimson. The beast brought her head lower, hovering over the boy. Mally’s smirk quirked the side of the kit’s mouth as the Jabberwock’s warm breath ruffled his pale hair. Eirian swung her snout, sniffing at the Dorhare and making him giggle. Jareth pressed his head up to meet her snout, murring against it like his feline uncle. Eirian dropped her head lower to nuzzle him with her cheek and Jareth sighed, resting his head beside her large eye as he closed his.

Gently, carefully, the Jabberwock opened her jaws and began to sing.

 _nen-nen yo okororiyo suya-suya to oyasuminasai_  
_nen-nen yo okororiyo uruseru hito ni sodachimasu youni_  
_kami-sama arigatou derai wo arigatou  
_ _nen-nen yo okororiyo mama no mune de oyasuminasai_

**Author's Note:**

> ~ Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed! Feel free to drop a comment, I'd love to hear from you! ~


End file.
